LaRussa Back for His 16th Season

Tony La Russa ended the usual post-season suspense, agreeing to a 16th season the Cardinals manager. The team announced a deal Monday that included a mutual option for the 2012 season. Financial terms were not disclosed on the new contract, finalized 15 days after the end of a disappointing season that left the 66-year-old La Russa wondering if he’d worn out his welcome.
“For the last 10 days or so, Tony and I have had daily dialogue,” general manager John Mozeliak said. “And I’m happy to report that we’re welcoming him back.”
Mozeliak said La Russa got assurances that all parties were on the same page regarding how to best build a contender.
La Russa has a franchise-record 1,318 wins since joining the team as manager in 1996 and is third on the major league career victory list, needing 126 wins to pass John McGraw for second place. He has managed 4,935 games, second on the list.
The Cardinals have won eight division titles, two National League pennants and a World Series title in 2006 under La Russa, but the franchise has not made it to the post-season in three of the last four seasons.
The Cardinals were heavily favoured to win the NL Central but collapsed the final two months and were 86-76, five games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. La Russa hasn’t publicly commented on his status since driving home to northern California a few days after the end of the season.
Apparently, a sticking point was security for the coaching staff. Pitching coach Dave Duncan, who has been with La Russa for 28 seasons, said recently he’d like to coach three more years.         RB Fallstrom


                                                    Marty Mason Gets Fired

                                                                                
The Cardinals decision to fire bullpen coach Marty Mason seems to be an unpopular one among the members of the bullpen. The Cardinals announced Monday that Mason would be the only coach not invited back for the 2011 season when they revealed that manager Tony La Russa had agreed to a new contract.
Mason had been the Cardinals bullpen coach the past 12 seasons and had coached 25 years in the organization. He was extremely popular in the Cardinals bullpen, leaving some of them searching for words when reached by FOXSportsMidwest.com Monday afternoon.
“It’s disappointing,” said reliever Kyle McClellan. “He was the guy I relied on heavily over my three years. He’s really helped me in my improvement. He made some big adjustments for me. It’s going to be tough but it’s something you have to deal with. He’s going to be missed. For us in the bullpen, I think everybody appreciated what he did. I thought he did a good job.”
The 53-year-old Mason was seen as a mechanical wizard, someone who both starters and relievers went to when in search of a change to their delivery. Mason teamed with pitching coach Dave Duncan to form arguably one of the best pitching/bullpen coach tandems in all of baseball.
Mason apparently was let go partially for voicing concerns to general manager John Mozeliak about some differences between the pitching philosophies at the Minor and Major League levels.
 
“Marty was definitely outspoken and when you try to put a group together and understanding that this job is hard enough, if you have people that are second guessing or challenging decisions, that makes it tough,” Mozeliak said Monday. “In his case, he certainly made his views known and at this point we obviously decided to make a change.”
Reached at home in Georgia, reliever Mitchell Boggs was unhappy when told the news that Mason was not going to be back with the club next year.
“Really?” Boggs said. “Well that’s disappointing to hear because obviously that’s a guy that I’ve spent a lot of time with. He helped me tremendously. He’s somebody that was dependable and was really there for us. He was a tremendous, positive influence on me and I hate to hear that he’s not going to be back.
“Obviously ‘Dunc’ has an outstanding reputation and deservingly so, but I think Marty flew under the radar. He was outstanding. I can speak for every single guy in the bullpen. We all loved him to death and felt like he was somebody that had our best interests at heart every single day and would go to battle for us and as a pitcher, a guy in the bullpen, I appreciate that. I will never ever forget that. He’s been a positive influence on me. Without him, it would tough for me to think about where I’d be right now because he did a tremendous job with me.”
Mozeliak said Monday the Cardinals will fill the position from within, giving a well deserved promotion to somebody from the minor leagues. But the move doesn’t appear to be sitting well with the members of the Cardinals bullpen, who said Mason does plenty more than most outside the organization will ever know.
Boggs and McClellan both credited Mason for their impressive 2010 seasons. McClellan lowered his ERA from 4.04 to 3.38 to 2.27 the past three seasons while Boggs had a respectable 3.61 ERA during his first full year as a big league reliever.
“Duncan is in the dugout all the time so he doesn’t have the access us to us out in the bullpen,” said McClellan. “Marty is there while we’re warming up. A lot of times during the game I will go over and chat with him whether I was struggling or doing well. We’re around him a lot more. He’s more accessible. He sees you throw every day and I think they made a great team.
“Obviously Duncan’s knowledge of pitching and scouting reports and his preparation, you put those two together and they really complimented each other really well. But for us, Mason was somebody who was always there and knew us really well and knew the pitching and the style and philosophy that we needed.”

BJ Rains